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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Tirupati is the town located at the base of Tirumala or Seven Hills which is the abode of Lord Venkateswara or Venkatachalapathi or Balaji as he is known in North India. We left the TTD Guest House Vishnu Nivasam - Tirupati at 6.00 am. We embarked in a Toyota Innova seven seater station wagon.In a short while we reached the Sapthagiri check post which is the entry point to the ghat road for Tirumala. Pilgrims are asked to disembark while the car undergoes a thorough check. Baggage undergoes screening and pilgrims subjected to body check. Vehicles have a pay a toll fee depending on the classification of the vehicle. The fee receipt is computer issued and reflects the Registration number of the vehicle and the time of departure. To avoid over speeding and rash driving vehicles are timed when they report to Tirumala check post. If they have clocked in before 28 minutes the drivers are penalized and the vehicle confiscated. Such a rule has a sobering effect on all drivers and they make sure that do not complete the 15 Kms ascent up the ghat road in less than 28 minutes. A most brilliant and innovative rule. The drive was cool comfortable and picturesque. Once we reached Tirumala we drove straight to "Sarangi" restaurant for break fast of idli/vada/dosa and coffee.All picture credits to Samsung Galaxy Smartphone :)

Clicked at 6.am at Vishnu Nivasam before departure for Tirumala - wife and son in the middle flanked by my friend and his wife. Yours truly was clicking the picture.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Saw this person fully covered in silver paint and standing still like a
statue, while driving upto Sri Vari Padam in Tirumala. Very innovative
but challenging way to earn his daily bread. He was standing on a pile of stones for a better elevation.Wonder what would have been
Mahatma Gandhi's feelings had been alive to see this? I actually saluted
the guy and he acknowledged with a nod of his head.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

During our peregrinations at Tirumala we visited Sri Vari
Padam and chanced upon a pair of Indian Giant Squirrels. I was very
fortunate to have been in a position to click some pictures of this rare
sighting. The squirrel also didn't mind me clicking and were
languorously perched on the branches of a tree.

Monday, March 23, 2015

From the Railway Station we walked across to Vishnu Nivasam a massive and magnificent TTD Guest House.It is possible to do e-booking of rooms here, provided you have already e-booked for darshan at Tirumala.However quota for e-booking of rooms is very limited hence we had to request a local person to come personally and do the booking. Vishnu Nivasam offers a choice of non-a/c room @ Rs.300, a/c room @ Rs.800 and deluxe rooms @ Rs.1500. We had opted for a/c room. The room is neat and clean provided with 2 beds with fresh linen,2 single sofas, a one ton split a/c,attached bathroom with a hot water geyser but no provision of towels,soap or shampoo/conditioner or TV. Drinking alcohol,smoking and consuming non-vegetarian food is strictly prohibited and their are sign boards all over the complex in every floor proclaiming this.
Since Tirupati is a high security risk zone, there is strict security check when you enter Vishnu Nivasam.Your baggage is screened and pilgrims are subjected to a body search.There is a huge expansive hall on the ground floor. On one side are the rooms booking and allotment counter. As and when rooms are vacated by pilgrims a sign board displays a room vacancy chart. Vacant rooms are allotted to those who are physically present and standing in queue.Generally you find there is a large influx of pilgrims coming into the complex in a continuous stream, many of them not needing a room, but only some shelter for a short period of time, before they proceed with their onward journey. The ground floor was teeming with such transit pilgrims and common toilets and bath areas are provided for their convenience.
There is also a canteen (Govindam) run by IRCTC on the ground floor whereas there is a TTD dining hall on the second floor providing free meals for pilgrims - morning afternoon and night. Apart from this free medical facility is provided to pilgrims who are sick or indisposed.There is a cloak room facility where you can deposit you baggage for safe keeping. They also provide an amazingly unbelievable facility for pilgrims proceeding uphill on foot. They collect your baggage at the complex and then deliver the same to you at Tirumala after a specified time.
The complex has 6
floors with 2 lifts operating throughout the day with pleasant faced and
courteous lift men some of them physically challenged,performing their
duties tirelessly.Each floor has close to 100 rooms and a total capacity
of 600 rooms. Rooms are allotted for minimum two persons only. However
there is no limitation on the number of persons staying in a room.Single
persons will not be allotted a room though.Each floor has huge
corridors which are frequently swept clean and maintained in sparkling
condition.The corridors are designed in such a manner that they are well
ventilated and receive plenty of natural lighting. Each floor is
provided with fire extinguishers and sand buckets at strategic locations
and also garbage bins for litter collection.
From our 6th floor
corridor we had a vantage view point of the magnificent gopuram of the
Govindaswamy Temple as well as the Lotus Tank. APRTC buses ply frequently
from Tirupati to Tirumala and you have a bus leaving almost every 10
minutes or so. A one way ticket costs you Rs.45 adult/Rs.23 children while a return ticket costs Rs.82. You can board the bus right outside the entrance gate of this complex.
On the whole a very impressive complex with superb facilities for pilgrims - probably unparalleled anywhere else in India.

Complex entrance where baggage screening and security check take place

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Here are some pictures of Tirupati Railway Station.Inside the station is
quite neat and clean. For the convenience of pilgrims there is an
escalator for up travel to reach the over bridge.However for descending
you have to take a flight of stairs. The station has two attractively designed entrances -
both carry signboards welcoming passengers in English,Hindi &
Telugu.The signs of Sanku (conch shell) and Chakram (wheel) which
represent Maha Vishnu are beautifully embellished on the front
facade. Pre-paid taxis/auto rikshas are available at the entrance and you find sign boards
indicating distances of various temples/guest houses from the
station.The most astonishing feature is an over bridge connecting the
station directly to the massive pilgrim centre across the road - Vishnu Nivas. This bridge is
almost ready but not yet functional.Right opposite the station are
numerous eateries dishing out both South Indian as well as North
Indian/Punjabi cuisine.There are regular bus services to ferry pilgrims
to Tirumalai,17 Kms up the hills, where people flock to visit and pray
at the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Venkatachalapati or Lord Balaji as He
is known in North India.

Traveled from Coimbatore to Tirupati by Kovai-Tirupati express on 17th March'2015.Dilapidated coach & ramshackle seats notwithstanding the
journey was comfortable.The air conditioning was quite effective and charging sockets were available to the delight of Smartphone users.We had carried packed food - sandwiches for breakfast and lemon/curd rice for lunch - yummy.Dep:6.00 am/Arr:1.40 pm.Do not know
why coaches condemned from premium trains are relegated to subsidiary
routes like this one.Chittoor station looked neat and sparkling though.These pictures were clicked at Chittoor station: